Jackson Arnold .......No Pressure !

[WishBone]

NORMAN — Jackson Arnold finds himself walking in the shadow of giants each day that he crosses from the Switzer Center to the Everest Training Facility on OU's campus.

The statues that line Heisman Park along Jenkins Avenue serve as an ever-present reminder of those who came before Arnold at Oklahoma. That reminder isn't exactly necessary for Arnold, who's well aware of the road others have paved at the quarterback position for the Sooners and the high bar they've set just in the last 20 seasons alone. From Jason White to Sam Bradford and Baker Mayfield to Kyler Murray, Arnold understands the Heisman pedigree that has been born from the program—which is something that factored into his decision to sign with the Sooners last year.

"Just knowing the caliber of QBs that came before me and just knowing I wanted to be a part of that group really stood out to me," Arnold said Tuesday. "Being in a lineage of Heisman winners is obviously something I want to join, and following in those footsteps is the place where I wanted to be."

As he assumes the role of QB1 for Oklahoma in its inaugural SEC season, Arnold isn't focused on the possibility of one day getting his own bronzed figure looking out on the façade of Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. He's intent on building off a freshman season that saw him learn behind veteran Dillon Gabriel in a campaign that saw him step in at halftime to help Oklahoma beat BYU on the road in November and make his first career start in the Alamo Bowl after Gabriel's departure for Oregon.

That freshman season had its ups and downs. Arnold showed all the promise of a five-star prospect with an immaculate debut in the season opener against Arkansas State, when he completed 11-of-11 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown. He also displayed his greenness in his first career start, accounting for four turnovers in that season-ending loss to Arizona in the Alamo Bowl.

Arnold has since put that performance behind him as he fully takes the reins of the offense this spring. His focus has been on learning from those mistakes and working on the finer details of the position — "dialing in the little things" and embracing the work that's required to succeed as a quarterback at a program like Oklahoma and in a conference like the SEC.

"JA, he's a stud, man," wide receiver Deion Burks said. "…If he makes a mistake, he's going to come back and throw an explosive (pass). He just has short-term memory. That's something a young quarterback, you don't normally see that. Just seeing that and him coming back and just being confident and getting better, it's a great thing to see."

Arnold has had his work cut out for him this spring, especially while going up against a veteran OU defense that returns key players at every position. Oklahoma's offense, meanwhile, has been a work in progress, with a rebuilding offensive line that is dealing with injuries to key pieces (Troy Everett and transfer addition Geirean Hatchett), various injuries at receiver (Nic Anderson, Jalil Farooq and Gavin Freeman have dealt with injuries of varying degrees) and a new offensive coordinator in Seth Littrell.

The latter has probably been the least difficult aspect of it all for Arnold, since he had a preexisting relationship with Littrell from his time on staff as an analyst last season. The two forged a bond through the summer and fall, with Litrell helping him with different aspects of the offense, which isn't too different from what Littrell ran at North Texas.

While last season was "very stressful" for Arnold as a freshman, that hasn't been the case this spring, despite some of the challenges facing the offense.

"(This spring is) not near as stressful," Arnold said. "Knowing the offense helps a lot in the spring. So, now I'm down to the little details about the offense and not trying to learn the big picture and figuring out what plays we're running. I know how to run them, knowing how to execute is a big thing."

He's understanding the offense and understanding his role as QB1, the next in that lineage of standout quarterbacks to come through Norman. And with that role comes all the expectations and pressure of being the starting quarterback at Oklahoma — part of that lofty bar set by the Sooners' past Heisman winners. Arnold is now the face of the program, as Brent Venables said after the Alamo Bowl, and with that comes an added burden.

Arnold understands that, too, but isn't letting it get to him. He knows it comes with the territory.

"I feel like there's pressure everywhere you go playing quarterback, especially at a school like this, going to the SEC for the first time," Arnold said. "There's going to be pressure for everything I do, and I don't think necessarily being in that lineage adds more pressure. But it is awesome being behind Heisman winners like that."

From 247 Sports